Spree of beach fires, despite total fire ban in Hawke's Bay

Remnants of charred wood driftwood set on fire, near Awatoto, Napier. Photo / File

Hawke's Bay firefighters are pleading for people to respect a total fire ban after a string of beach bonfires needed attention.

Firefighters were called to four separate incidents between 6pm and 9pm on Sunday. The fires were located at Bayview, Napier South and in Haumoana.

They were all extinguished immediately on arrival by fire crews.

Hawke's Bay was put under a region wide fire ban, both rural and inner city, on February 10.

But while firefighters are pleased with the initial response from the public they want it to continue as the region continues to experience extremely dry conditions.

Hawke's Bay Rural Fire Officer Trevor Mitchell said Wairoa is set to come off the ban over the coming days, going back to restrictions with those that have permits allowed to have fires.

Hawke's Bay Rural Fire Officer Trevor Mitchell said that even though the weather is looking like it might change people still need to enforce the ban and stay vigilant. Photo / Paul Taylor

"Wairoa has had a decent amount of rain with about 90mm over the last week or so, and we are going to continue to watch over the rest of the region over the coming weeks to see what happens."

He said that while the general public has been very good in following the ban those ignoring it are just causing "a big waste of time" for firefighters who have to attend them to make sure they are put out.

Mitchell said most of the trouble they'd had this summer had been accidental, but exacerbated by the dry.

"Over the weekend we were called to a couple of small grass fires caused by power line issues and the dry grass, so even though the weather is looking like it's starting to change it is still very important to note that it is still very dry so people need to stay vigilant."

Firefighters also responded to a car on fire in Flaxmere early on Monday morning.

Police were called to Scarborough Rd at 1.20am. The fire was out on arrival.

Officers later tracked down two youths believed to be responsible for the blaze but no charges have been laid, a police spokesperson said.